Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-03-13

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the occasion a happy one. The JSt
Of Ste. Dcyote--she is the patron sain
Of the principality--is celebrated with
imposing religious ceremonies. that in
cludo procession in whitehall the State
dignitaries and large part of the popu-
lation are sure TO take part. The local
language, or patois, is now rapidly dis
appearing. IL il mixture of Proven
cal, bad italian, equally bad French, a
little Spanish, the whole combined
making o mongrel dialect TO which each
epoch of the countrys history has con-
hibuted something. The national coat
of-arms--a shield fusclG OF silver and
rcd, supported by two monks holding
drawn swords. and surmounted by a
sovereign crowns the same as that of
the lrince himself, and at the bottom
Of the shield is the motto. "DiO jti-
UGntc ,"
In 1865, when Italy, France, Bel
GUM. and Switzerland formed the
Latin union" by which the gold and
silver coins of any one OF them you'd
be current money in all the &hers,
Prince Charles Ill. of Monaco ayailed
himself OF the clause OF the treaty that
allowed any State which wished TO do so
10 become q member of the union, and
now he has his own money minted.
This coinage consists only of gold
pieces of f.lO0 and f.20 and there are
I. 1895 worth of real gold in every 1000
Of nominal value. These coins are
beautiful, and | wish / had "bar'l of
them. There IL Government printing
Office up at Monaco, where two official
periodicals, the Anauairc and the Jour
nal dc Monaco, are published. The
Aanu0ire is a sort of Almanac de
Gotha; it has been got out annually
since 1873 and contains
MUCH USEFUL INFORMATION,
especially for the regular inhabitants.
The journal dc Monaco makes its APP
pearance every Tuesday; it publishes
all the ordinances and prominent ar
rivals, trials Of local questions, and has |
letter from Paris, some current Cos
sip, and musical criticism that has
real merit.
II is perfectly true that this whole
structure, this government of Monaco,
its sovereign prince, and all its attractive
splendors are kept up mainly by the
gains at roulette and rOUgc ctnOir, and
naturally this brings to view most Sc
rious question-th that of gambling. Now,
since public gambling was abolished in |
Germany by the DEGREES which went |
into force IN 1873, the Monte Carlo
Casino is the only establishment of that
sort now open in Europe, and as gam
bling is one of the most intense, |
most absorbing, most violent of hui
man passions, it is not, there
fore, to be wondered at that the Satic |
dcs .jcUr Of yon structure should be
crowded every afternoon and evening. |
Very well, then; can gambling, which |
everybody admits IS great evil, he
stopped In any way whatever? When |
public gaming-houses are closed men
play at their clubs or in their private
rooms thus open gambling is inter
fered with and clandestine hells" in
crease in number, and in them, you
may be sure Of it, You will be shame
fully cheated. Persons who are OPP
posed to public gambling say that pub
lie morality does not suffer from what
takes place behind locked doors and
carefully-closed shutters. This is
to compromise with things declared
unlawful, and is only worthy of base
hypocrites. If gambling is an evil for
which there is no cure, is it not the
duty of society to at least do what it
can to diminish the danger resulting |
from it? l believe that gambling is
carried on in an honest and honorable
way here at Monte Carlo; players, if
robbed at all, are not robbed by the
"baDk," but by other players, some of
whom are not conscious of what they
are doing when they lay hold of money
not their own. There is no cheating
at roulette, and, for the life of me, |
can't see how there can be at trent ct
Quardnfc. The sharpest eyes in the
world are watching the dealer all the
time, and if he could cheat he would
soon be detected; besides the fellow
would not gain a penny. To be plain
about it, there is no use of the Casino
rosorting to any sort Of trickery to gain
your money-the percentages are suf-
ficiontly large to make all shareholders
happy. Last year the net profits of
Monte Carlo gambling-tables, after
paying for all improvements TO grounds
and giving the Prince his large sub
Vention,
WAS QUITE $j,4O0,OOO.
Nothing hut cash-playing is ever per-
mitted thus the danger of losingmore
than you can pay is minimumized. A
nan may 90 ont of the rooms without |
a dollar left in his pocket, but lie can
not leave owing the Casino anything,
as is the case too often with those who
gamble in Paris, London, and New
York private establishments. The very
fact that man is obliged to go away in
search of more money with which to
continue playing gives him time for re-
Election, and saves many one from
total ruin. 1t is the man who can Dor
row all he wants from the club funds,
or from q gambler, that is apt to run
himself in debt beyond all possibility
Of payment, and then he is ruined.
Here, when IL o'clock strikes, all gam
bling ceases whether you are a winner
or loser you must stop and go away.
You are not permitted to ruin your
health and your fortune at the same
time; for your health soon would be
forever ruined if you remained In
those badly-ventilated rooms any
later at night. Daylight often finds
Americans still at the green ia
BILE, where they sat down soon
after dinner the evening before,
and all of us have heard of private
games of poker and faro played at
which have continued
iwenty-four hours without intermis-
sion. As the Casino "bank" imposes
a maximum for its own protection,
players are unable to ever risk more
Than 81, AGO on single chance. BY no
possible combination can you win more
than 81, 500 at trcntc ct QudrdRtC, or
s19. 200 at roulette in a single turn
or deal, and j have seen 100000
lost on a single bet at baccarat. If {
his is ga tomb for honest folk, " {
Il it "spreads mourning through many
| am unable to learn when it !
occurs or how it is brought about. | (
have seen many persons who were "to- I
.ally cleaned on" here, but | have
,oxar vat coon n " haocsrd face" or a |